No. 165 Squadron RAF was a unit of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

that was formed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The squadron has been formed twice. Initially formed on 1 June 1918 as a nucleus, it did not see active service before being disbanded on 4 July 1918. Reformed on 6 April 1942 at

RAF Ayr RAF Heathfield, sometimes known as RAF Ayr/Heathfield due to its proximity to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which was also used by military flights, is a former Royal Air Force station. Like many other wartime airfields, its runways were of the t ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

with

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

as a fighter squadron and became operational on defensive duties on 1 May. The squadron moved to

RAF Eastchurch Royal Air Force Eastchurch or more simply RAF Eastchurch (formerly RNAS Eastchurch) is a former Royal Air Force station near Eastchurch village, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England. The history of aviation at Eastchurch stretches back to the fi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 15 August to take part in sweeps over northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, moving to

RAF Gravesend Gravesend Airport, located south-east of Gravesend town centre, Kent and west of Rochester. It was operated from 1932 until 1956. It was initially a civil airfield, and became a Royal Air Force station known as RAF Gravesend during the Second W ...

on 20 August and again to

RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...

on 2 November, until returning to

RAF Peterhead Royal Air Force Peterhead or more simply RAF Peterhead is a former Royal Air Force sector station located east of Longside, Aberdeenshire and west of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The airfield was built in 1941 and disbanded in ...

, Scotland on 29 March 1943. In May 1943, Spitfires from the squadron intercepted a

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

off the Scottish coast. The aircraft was being flown by crew who intended to defect to the allied side. The Ju 88 waggled its wings and dropped flares, signaling the intent to surrender, and the Spitfires escorted it to a landing at

RAF Dyce Aberdeen International Airport ( gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Obar Dheathain) is an international airport, located in the Dyce suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. A total of just under 3.1&nbs ...

. The RAF pilots were

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for taking the risk not to open fire on the Ju 88 upon interception. The capture of this aircraft was of great intelligence value at the time, as it was fitted with the latest FuG 202 Liechtenstein BC A.I radar. On 30 June, the squadron relocated to RAF Ibsley, England before moving to

RAF Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, then

RAF Kenley The former Royal Air Force Station Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley was an airfield station of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and the RAF in the Second World War. It played a significant role during the Battle of Britai ...

before moving to

RAF Church Stanton Royal Air Force Culmhead or more simply RAF Culmhead is a former Royal Air Force station, situated at Churchstanton on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset, England. It had three tarmac runways that are now in poor condition and the control towers a ...

, later renamed as

RAF Culmhead Royal Air Force Culmhead or more simply RAF Culmhead is a former Royal Air Force station, situated at Churchstanton on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset, England. It had three tarmac runways that are now in poor condition and the control towers ...

, and was assigned to provide bomber escort missions over France and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Escorts, convoys patrols, sweeps over northwest France and local air defence occupied the squadron until after the invasion moving to

RAF Colerne Royal Air Force Colerne or more simply RAF Colerne is a former Royal Air Force station which was on the outskirts of the village of Colerne in Wiltshire, England, and was in use from 1939 to 1976. The site is now known as Azimghur Barracks and ...

on 10 February 1944, then back to

on 10 March, then

RAF Predannack Predannack Airfield is an aerodrome near Mullion on The Lizard peninsula of Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The runways are operated by the Royal Navy and today it is a satellite airfield and relief landing ground for nearby RNAS Culdrose. ...

on 2 April. The squadron was moved to

RAF Harrowbeer Royal Air Force Harrowbeer or more simply RAF Harrowbeer is a former Royal Air Force station situated next to Yelverton in the parish of Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England Location RAF Harrowbeer was located approximately NNE of the city of ...

on 20 June, then

RAF Detling Royal Air Force Detling or more simply RAF Detling is a former Royal Air Force station situated above sea level, located near Detling, a village about miles north-east of Maidstone, Kent. It was a station of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS ...

on 22 June, to help combat flying-bomb attacks and provide escort for bomber forces. The squadron was moved to

RAF Lympne The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

on 12 July and then

on 10 August. The squadron moved to

RAF Bentwaters Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about northeast of London and east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken fro ...

on 15 December, where the squadron was re-equipped with North American Mustangs becoming operational again in February 1945 and began long-range missions. With the end of the war in Europe, the squadron moved to

to re-equip with Spitfires and prepare to be transferred to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in mid June. The squadron provided air defence for a period of six months until the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...

had reorganised. The squadron disbanded on 1 September 1946 after returning home with its aircraft passing to No. 66 Squadron.

Squadron codes

References

External links

RAF website

{{Royal Air Force 165 Military units and formations established in 1942 No. 165